Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Ester and Ether

Aug 31, 2017 - Department of Biology, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia 23173, United States. ∥ Division of Hema...
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Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Ester and Ether Derivatives of Antisickling Agent 5‑HMF for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease Guoyan G. Xu,† Piyusha P. Pagare,† Mohini S. Ghatge,†,‡ Ronni P. Safo,‡ Aheema Gazi,§ Qiukan Chen,∥ Tanya David,‡ Alhumaidi B. Alabbas,†,‡ Faik N. Musayev,†,‡ Jürgen Venitz,⊥ Yan Zhang,† Martin K. Safo,*,†,‡ and Osheiza Abdulmalik*,∥ †

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, ⊥Department of Pharmaceutics, and ‡The Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery, and Development, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298, United States § Department of Biology, School of Arts & Sciences, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia 23173, United States ∥ Division of Hematology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: Candidate drugs to counter intracellular polymerization of deoxygenated sickle hemoglobin (Hb S) continue to represent a promising approach to mitigating the primary cause of the pathophysiology associated with sickle cell disease (SCD). One such compound is the naturally occurring antisickling agent, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF), which has been studied in the clinic for the treatment of SCD. As part of our efforts to develop novel efficacious drugs with improved pharmacologic properties, we structurally modified 5-HMF into 12 ether and ester derivatives. The choice of 5-HMF as a pharmacophore was influenced by a combination of its demonstrated attractive hemoglobin modifying and antisickling properties, well-known safety profiles, and its reported nontoxic major metabolites. The derivatives were investigated for their time- and/or dose-dependent effects on important antisickling parameters, such as modification of hemoglobin, corresponding changes in oxygen affinity, and inhibition of red blood cell sickling. The novel test compounds bound and modified Hb and concomitantly increased the protein affinity for oxygen. Five of the derivatives exhibited 1.5- to 4.0-fold higher antisickling effects than 5-HMF. The binding mode of the compounds with Hb was confirmed by X-ray crystallography and, in part, helps explain their observed biochemical properties. Our findings, in addition to the potential therapeutic application, provide valuable insights and potential guidance for further modifications of these (and similar) compounds to enhance their pharmacologic properties. KEYWORDS: hemoglobin, sickle cell disease, aromatic aldehydes, furfural, polymerization, antisickling, oxygen affinity, adduct formation, crystal structure

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INTRODUCTION

Valeresol), 5-HMF, and most recently, GBT-440 have been established to increase the oxygen affinity of Hb S to counter polymerization, thereby providing a potential therapeutic intervention for SCD.6,11−19 Vanillin, Tucaresol, Valeresol, and 5-HMF have undergone phase I and/or II studies,6,16,20−24 while GBT-440 is currently undergoing a phase III clinical studies for the treatment of SCD (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03036813), suggesting a viable route to treat this disease with aromatic aldehydes. The pharmacologic effect of these compounds primarily involves formation of a Schiff-base interaction between the aldehyde moiety of the compound and the N-terminal amine of αVal1 of the liganded Hb and,

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is caused by a single point mutation of βGlu6 in normal hemoglobin (Hb) to βVal6 in sickle Hb (Hb S).1,2 The primary pathophysiology of the disease involves polymerization of Hb S into insoluble fibers under low oxygen (O2) saturation, which is exacerbated by the inherent low affinity of sickle red blood cells (RBCs) for oxygen, presumably due to high concentrations of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and/or sphingosine phosphate in sickle RBCs.3−6 The insoluble Hb S fibers then cause the RBCs to form rigid sickled cells that occlude small blood vessels, triggering several secondary pathological consequences, such as painful crises, organ damage, oxidative stress, hemolysis, impaired microvascular blood flow, morbidity, and mortality.7−10 Aromatic aldehydes can allosterically modify Hb to the highO2-affinity form.6,11,12 Consequently, several candidates, such as vanillin and its derivatives (INN compounds, Tucaresol, and © XXXX American Chemical Society

Received: Revised: Accepted: Published: A

June 30, 2017 August 28, 2017 August 31, 2017 August 31, 2017 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00553 Mol. Pharmaceutics XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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Molecular Pharmaceutics

IR. Purity of the compounds was determined by HPLC using a Varian Microsorb 100-5 C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm) and a Prostar 325 UV−vis (254 nm) as the detector. UPLC−MS data were obtained using Waters Acquity HClass UPLC coupled to a TQD ESI-MS detector and a PDA detector. Synthesis of Compounds. (5-Formylfuran-2-yl)methyl Acetate (VZHE004). The synthesis of VZHE004 was carried out as per a previously reported procedure.31 5-HMF (63 mg, 0.5 mmol) and acetic anhydride (102 mg, 1 mmol) were dissolved in 2 mL of acetonitrile, and the mixture was cooled to 0 °C. Pyridine (79 mg, 1 mmol) was added slowly. The resultant reaction mixture was stirred at 0 °C for 30 min and then at r.t. for 15 h. The reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (15 mL) and then washed with 0.1 N HCl (5 mL × 3), 10% NaHCO3 (5 mL × 2), and brine (5 mL). The organic layer was then dried over Na2SO4. After filtration and concentration, the resultant crude oil was purified with silica gel column chromatography and eluted with the solvent system of EtOAc/hexanes = 1:4 to give 52 mg of the product as a colorless oil, and the yield was 62%. 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.64 (s, 1H), 7.20 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 6.58 (d, J = 3.56 Hz, 1H), 5.12 (s, 2H), 2.11 (s, 3H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.92, 170.41, 155.61, 153.08, 121.58, 112.66, 57.96, 20.80. tert-Butyl((5-formylfuran-2-yl)methyl) Carbonate (VZHE006). 5-HMF (1.26 g, 10 mmol) and ditert-butyl dicarbonate (Boc2O) (4.36 g, 20 mmol) were dissolved in 40 mL of CH2Cl2, and the mixture was cooled to 0 °C. Pyridine (1.58 g, 20 mmol) was added slowly. The resultant reaction mixture was stirred at 0 °C for 30 min and then at r.t. for 15 h. The reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (150 mL) and then washed with 0.1 N HCl (50 mL × 3), 10% NaHCO3 (50 mL × 2), and brine (50 mL). The organic layer was then dried over Na2SO4. After filtration and concentration, the resultant crude oil was purified with silica gel column chromatography and eluted with the solvent system of EtOAc/hexanes = 1:6 to give 1.8 g of the product as a colorless oil, and the yield was 80%. IR (cm−1): 2984.4, 1740.9, 1678.7, 1524.8, 1369.4, 1272.5, 1250.6, 1153.2, 1085.9, 854.1, 812.1, 791.8, 766.4. 753.5. 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.65 (s, 1H), 7.20 (d, J = 3.56 Hz, 1H), 6.61 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 5.11 (s, 2H), 1.50 (s, 9H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.89, 155.15, 153.00, 152.88, 121.14, 112.57, 83.21, 60.19, 27.73. MS: [M + Na]+ calcd 249.0739; found 249.0762. (5-Formylfuran-2-yl)methyl Benzoate (VZHE007). 5-HMF (122 mg, 1 mmol) and benzoyl chloride (280 mg, 2 mmol) were dissolved in 4 mL of CH2Cl2. The mixture was cooled to 0 °C and triethylamine (202 g, 2 mmol) was added slowly. The resultant reaction mixture was stirred at 0 °C for 30 min and then at r.t. for 15 h. After filtration, the reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (15 mL) and then washed with 0.1 N HCl (5 mL × 3), 10% NaHCO3 (5 mL × 2), and brine (5 mL). The organic layer was then dried over Na2SO4. After filtration and concentration, the resultant crude oil was purified with silica gel column chromatography and eluted with the solvent system of EtOAc/hexanes = 1:8 to give 200 mg of the product as a white solid, and the yield was 90%. M.p.: 50−51 °C. IR (cm−1): 3122.5, 2852.2, 1708.7, 1671.1, 1253.2, 812.6, 773.2, 701.4. 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.66 (s, 1H), 8.05 (m, 2H), 7.58 (t, J = 7.54 Hz, 1H), 7.45 (t, J = 7.76 Hz, 2H), 7.23 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 6.68 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 5.42 (s, 2H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.83, 165.94, 155.56, 152.97, 133.44, 129.85, 129.35, 128.49,

along with other protein interactions, stabilizes the R-state Hb in the R2 conformation, thus increasing Hb affinity for oxygen.6,11−15 Consistently, the synthetic derivatives, such as Tucaresol and GBT-440, with apparent increased protein interactions have demonstrated both enhanced potency and improved pharmacokinetic properties than the parent vanillin.13,16,17 Unlike the above-mentioned aromatic aldehydes, there are other classes of aromatic aldehydes that bind Hb and preferentially stabilize the T-state relative to the R-state resulting in a decrease in Hb affinity for oxygen.11,12,25,26 These compounds as expected promote sickling. 5-HMF undergoes extensive oxidative metabolism of the aldehyde moiety resulting in a short plasma half-life (∼1 h) and low bioavailability that significantly reduces its pharmacologic effect.14,20,21,27,28 This observation, as well as the relatively low potency of 5-HMF, which would necessitate high doses, likely contributed to the termination of the phase II clinical trials. Based on our previous success in derivatizing the antisickling lead vanillin,13,29 we sought to derivatize the nontoxic 5-HMF, a superior and more promising antisickling lead than vanillin, to increase its interactions with the protein, which we envisaged would enhance or improve its potency and metabolic profiles. Using the crystallographic binding mode of 5-HMF to liganded Hb as a guide, we synthesized or obtained 12 derivatives of 5HMF that incorporate different substituents at the alcohol moiety for potential additional interactions with the protein. Subsequently, we investigated the compounds in vitro for their time- and/or concentration-dependent pharmacodynamic/ metabolic profiles, using the following parameters: Hb binding/modification properties; allosteric effects; and antisickling activities, using normal (AA) or sickle (SS) blood. One representative compound was also studied for its atomic interactions with Hb using X-ray crystallography.

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EXPERIMENTAL SECTION Materials and General Procedure. Normal whole blood was obtained from healthy adult donors at the Virginia Commonwealth University after informed consent, in accordance with regulations of the IRB for Protection of Human Subjects. Hb was purified from discarded normal blood samples using standard procedures.30 Leftover blood samples from patients with homozygous SS blood were obtained and utilized, based on an approved IRB protocol at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, with informed consent. All other reagents used in the syntheses and functional assays were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO) and ThermoFisher Scientific (Waltham, MA) and utilized without additional purification. 5-(Phenoxymethyl)-2-furan carbaldehyde (5-PMFC), 5-((2-nitrophenoxy)methyl)-2-furan carbaldehyde (5-NMFC), and 5-((4-chlorophenoxy)methyl)-2-furan carbaldehyde (5-CMFC) were obtained from Aldrich and used without further purification. 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra were obtained on a Bruker 400 MHz spectrometer and tetramethylsilane (TMS) was used as an internal standard. Peak positions are given in parts per million (δ). Column chromatography was performed on silica gel (grade 60 mesh; Bodman Industries, Aston, PA). Routine thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was performed on silica gel GHIF plates (250 μm, 2.5 × 10 cm; Analtech Inc., Newark, DE). MS spectra were obtained from a PerkinElmer Flexar UHLPC with AxION 2 Time of Flight (TOF) Mass Spectrometer, and the molecular weight of the compounds was within 0.05% of calculated values. Infrared spectra were obtained on a Thermo Nicolet iS10 FTB

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Molecular Pharmaceutics 121.56, 112.73, 58.25. MS: [M + Na]+ calcd 253.0477; found 253.0554. 5-(Methoxymethyl)-2-furan Carboxadehyde (VZHE005). The synthesis of VZHE005 was carried out as per a previously reported procedure.32 5-HMF (126 mg, 1.0 mmol) was dissolved in acetonitrile (5 mL), and MeI (426 mg, 3.0 mmol) was added and followed by Cs2CO3 (488 mg, 1.5 mmol). The reaction mixture was heated at 50 °C for 2 days. The reaction mixture was then filtered, concentrated, and purified with silica gel chromatography with EtOAc/hexanes = 1:8 as the eluent. The product was obtained as a light yellow oil, 67 mg, yield of 48%. HPLC purity: 98.6% (retention time: 3.72 min; 40% H2O and 60% MeCN over 30 min at 254 nm on Varian C18 column). 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.63 (s, 1H), 7.21 (d, J = 3.48 Hz, 1H), 6.53 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 4.49 (s, 2H), 3.43 (s, 3H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.85, 158.47, 152.87, 121.76, 111.26, 66.76, 58.85. 5-(Ethoxymethyl)-2-furan Carboxadehyde (VZHE011). The synthesis of VZHE011 was carried out as per previously reported procedure.32 5-HMF (122 mg, 1.0 mmol) was dissolved in acetonitrile (5 mL), and EtI (468, 3.0 mmol) was added and followed by Cs2CO3 (488, 1.5 mmol). The reaction mixture was heated at 50 °C for 2 days. The reaction mixture was then filtered, concentrated and purified with silica gel chromatography with EtOAc: Hexanes = 1:8 as the eluent. The product was obtained as a light yellow oil, 77 mg, yield of 50%. HPLC purity: 95.0% (retention time: 4.01 min; 40% H2O and 60% MeCN over 30 min at 254 nm on Varian C18 column). 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.62 (s, 1H), 7.21 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 6.52 (d, J = 3.56 Hz, 1H), 4.54 (s, 2H), 3.60 (q, J = 7.00 Hz, 2H), 1.25 (t, J = 6.98 Hz, 3H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.83, 158.95, 152.77, 121.91, 111.08, 66.77, 64.92, 15.19. 5-(tert-Butoxymethyl)furan-2-carbaldehyde (VZHE013). 5HMF (100 mg, 0.82 mmol) was dissolved in DCM (5 mL), and Boc2O (0.89 g, 4.10 mmol) and Mg(ClO4)2 (36 mg, 0.16 mmol) were added. The reaction mixture was refluxed for 2 days. The reaction mixture was then filtered, concentrated, and purified with silica gel chromatography with EtOAc/hexanes = 1:8 as the eluent. The product was obtained as a light yellow oil, 58 mg, yield of 36%. HPLC purity: 95.4% (retention time: 4.78 min; 40% H2O and 60% MeCN over 30 min at 254 nm on Varian C18 column). IR: 2974.8, 1676.9, 1188.4, 1019.9, 803.7. 1 H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.59 (s, 1H), 7.20 (d, J = 3.48 Hz, 1H), 6.49 (d, J = 3.48 Hz, 1H), 4.49 (s, 2H), 1.28 (s, 9H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.61, 160.33, 152.39, 122.24, 110.30, 74.45, 57.31, 27.47. MS: [M + Na]+ calcd 205.0841; found 205.0903. (5-Formylfuran-2-yl)methyl Dimethyl Phosphate (VZHE014). 5-HMF (183 mg, 1.5 mmol) and dimethyl chlorophosphate (217 mg, 1.5 mmol) were dissolved in 4 mL of CH2Cl2. The mixture was cooled to 0 °C, and pyridine (130 mg, 1.65 mmol) was added slowly. The resultant reaction mixture was stirred at 0 °C for 30 min and then at rt for 15 h. After filtration, the reaction mixture was diluted with EtOAc (15 mL) and then washed with 0.1 N HCl (5 mL × 3), 10% NaHCO3 (5 mL × 2), and brine (5 mL). The organic layer was then dried with Na2SO4. After filtration and concentration, the resultant crude oil was purified with column and eluted with the solvent system of EtOAc/hexanes = 1:2 and then EtOAc to give 180 mg of the product as a colorless oil, and the yield was 51%. IR: 2959.34, 1675.9, 1525.5, 1267.5, 1008.8, 845.0, 754.0. 1 H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.66 (s, 1H), 7.23 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 6.67 (d, J = 3.56 Hz, 1H), 5.10 (d, J = 9.04 Hz, 2H), 3.78 (d, J = 11.2 Hz, 6H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.95, 155.17 (d, 3JP−C

= 7.15 Hz), 153.17, 121.56, 112.70, 60.89 (d, 2JP−C = 4.83 Hz), 54.68 (d, 2JP−C = 5.96 Hz). 31P NMR (CDCl3): δ, 1.07. MS: [M + Na]+ calcd 257.0191; found 257.0219 5-(Propoxymethyl)-2-furan Carboxadehyde (VZHE015). The synthesis of VZHE015 was carried out as per a previously reported procedure.32 5-HMF (126 mg, 1.0 mmol) was dissolved in acetonitrile (5 mL), and PrI (510 mg, 3.0 mmol) was added and followed by Cs2CO3 (488 mg, 1.5 mmol). The reaction mixture was heated to relux for 2 days. The reaction mixture was then filtered, concentrated, and purified with silica gel chromatography with EtOAc/hexanes = 1:8 as the eluent. The product was obtained as a light yellow oil, 94 mg, yield of 56%. 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.62 (s, 1H), 7.21 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 6.52 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 4.54 (s, 2H), 3.49 (t, J = 6.68 Hz, 2H), 1.63 (m, 2H), 0.93 (t, J = 7.42 Hz, 2H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.69, 158.93, 152.56, 121.91, 110.90, 72.96, 64.99, 22.82, 10.46. 5-(Isopropoxymethyl)-2-furan Carboxadehyde (VZHE016). The synthesis of VZHE016 was carried out as per a previously reported procedure.32 5-HMF (126 mg, 1.0 mmol) was dissolved in acetonitrile (5 mL), and i-PrI (510 mg, 3.0 mmol) was added and followed by Cs2CO3 (488 mg, 1.5 mmol). The reaction mixture was stirred at rt for 4 days. The reaction mixture was then filtered, concentrated, and purified with silica gel chromatography with EtOAc/hexanes = 1:8 as the eluent. The product was obtained as a light yellow oil, 60 mg, yield of 40%. 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.61 (s, 1H), 7.21 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 6.52 (d, J = 3.52 Hz, 1H), 4.54 (s, 2H), 3.73 (heptet, J = 6.12 Hz, 1H), 1.22 (d, J = 6.08 Hz, 6H). 13C NMR (CDCl3): δ 177.83, 159.57, 152.66, 122.19, 110.83, 72.31, 63.68, 22.11. Hemoglobin Modification, Oxygen Equilibrium, and Antisickling Studies Using Human Sickle Blood. The 12 compounds, VZHE004, VZHE006, VZHE007, VZHE005, VZHE011, VZHE013, VZHE014, VZHE015, VZHE016, 5PMFC, 5-CMFC, 5-NMFC, and the parent compound (positive control) 5-HMF were investigated for their abilities to prevent hypoxia-induced RBC sickling (RBC morphology study), to increase sickle Hb oxygen affinity (oxygen equilibrium curve; OEC study), and to modify sickle Hb (adduct formation study) as previously published.14,15 Briefly, blood suspensions from a subject with homozygous SCD (hematocrit: 20%) were incubated under air in the absence or presence of 1, 2, and 5 mM concentration of test compounds at 37 °C for 1 h. Following, the suspensions were incubated under hypoxic condition (4% oxygen/96% nitrogen) at 37 °C for 2 h. Aliquot samples were fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde solution without exposure to air, and then subjected to microscopic morphological analysis. The residual samples were washed in phosphate-buffered saline and hemolyzed in hypotonic lysis buffer for subsequent analyses. For the OEC study, approximately 100 μL aliquot samples from clarified lysate obtained from the antisickling study were added to 4 mL of 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, in a cuvette and subjected to hemoximetry analysis using Hemox Analyzer (TCS Scientific Corp.) to assess P50 shifts. Finally, for the Hb adduct formation study, clarified lysates, also from the above antisickling study, were subjected to cation-exchange HPLC (Hitachi D-7000 Series, Hitachi Instruments, Inc., San Jose, CA), using a weak cation-exchange column (Poly CAT A: 30 mm × 4.6 mm, Poly LC, Inc., Columbia, MD). Time-Dependent Adduct Formation Studies Using Normal Human Whole Blood. The compounds VZHE004, C

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Molecular Pharmaceutics VZHE006, VZHE007, VZHE005, VZHE011, VZHE013, VZHE014, VZHE015, VZHE016, 5-PMFC, 5-NMFC, and the control 5-HMF were used to conduct time-dependent studies on Hb adduct formation using normal whole blood. The study was performed in a 96-well deepwell (Thermo Scientific) plate, where each compound at 2 mM concentration was added to 600 μL of whole blood (30% hct) and incubated at 37 °C for 24 h with shaking (at 140 rpm). At 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h time intervals, a 75 μL aliquot of blood was removed from each well using a multichannel pipet and added to respective tubes containing 75 μL of Na cyanoborohydride and borohydride mix (1:1 v/v 50 mM stock) to terminate the Schiff-base reaction, fix the Schiff-base adducts, and reduce the free reactive aldehyde.33 We have previously optimized these conditions. After mixing, the tubes were stored immediately at −80 °C until ready for analysis to determine Hb adduct formation using cation-exchange HPLC (Hitachi D-7000 Series, Hitachi Instruments, Inc., San Jose, CA) as previously described.14,15 The observed Hb adduct values in %Hb were plotted as a function of time [hours]; peak adduct concentration was obtained by visual inspection, and area under the curve, AUC(0−24), was obtained by linear trapezoidal rule across the entire 24-h measurement period. Crystallization, Data Collection, and Structure Determination of Liganded Hb in Complex with VZHE004. A freshly made solution of VZHE004 or VZHE005 in DMSO was added to carbon monoxide ligated Hb (30 mg/mL protein) at Hb tetramer−compound molar ratio of 1:10 to form the COHb-compound complex, and then crystallized using 10− 20% PEG6000, 100 mM Hepes, pH 7.4. Cherry-red needle crystals formed in 1−3 days for VZHE004 and were used to collect X-ray diffraction data at 100 K using a Molecular Structure Corporation (MSC) X-Stream Cryogenic Cooler System (The Woodlands, TX), an R-Axis IV image plate detector, and a Rigaku Micro-Max-007 generator (40 kV and 20 mA). The crystals were first cryoprotected with 80 μL of mother liquor mixed with 62 μL of 50% PEG6000. The data set was processed with the D*trek software (Rigaku) and the CCP4 suite of programs.34 The crystal is in the space group P212121 with cell constant of 62.64, 83.32, and 104.95. The crystal structure of COHb in complex with VZHE004 was determined by a molecular replacement method with Phenix,35,36 using the native R2-state Hb crystal structure (PDB code 1BBB) as a search model.37 The structure was refined using both Phenix and CNS.35,36,38 The final refined structure at 1.85 Å contained four CO molecules bound at all four distal heme sites, two VZHE004 bound at the α-cleft, and several water molecules with final Rfactor and Rfree of 17.9% and 22.3%, respectively. Model building and correction were carried out using COOT.39 The atomic coordinates and structure factor of VZHE004 in complex with carbon monoxide hemoglobin have been deposited in the RCSB Protein Data Bank with accession code 5URC. Detailed crystallographic and refinement parameters are reported in Table 1. Statistical Analyses. All functional and biological assays evaluating antisickling properties, Hb modification, and oxygen affinity changes were conducted in three biological replicates. Results are reported as mean values with standard deviations, from triplicate analyses.

Table 1. Data Collection and Refinement Statistics of Carbonmonoxy Hb in Complex with VZHE004a Data Collection Statistics space group unit cell a, b, c (Å) resolution (Å) unique reflections redundancy completeness (%) average I/σ(I) Rmergeb (%) Refinement Statistics resolution (Å) No. of reflections Rwork (%) Rfreec (%) rmsd bonds (Å) rmsd angles (deg) dihedral angles most favored (%) allowed (%) average B (Å2)/atom all atoms protein hemes VZHE004 PDB ID code

P212121 62.64, 83.32, 104.95 29.32−1.85 (1.92−1.85) 47163 4.28 (3.71) 99.1 (96.5) 21.5 (6.5) 3.8 (17.3) 29.32−1.85 (1.97−1.85) 47094 (7239) 17.9 (28.8) 22.3 (36.0) 0.007 1.7 96.64 3.0 28.4 24.2 21.6 37.1 5URC

a

Numbers in parentheses are for the highest resolution shell. bRmerge = ΣhklΣi|Ii(hkl) − ⟨I(hkl)⟩|/ΣhklΣiIi(hkl). cRfree was calculated from 5% randomly selected reflection for cross-validation. All other measured reflections were used during refinement.

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RESULTS Design and Synthesis of Novel Derivatives of 5-HMF. Our group and others have previously developed several pharmacologically improved derivatives of the antisickling compound vanillin or benzaldehydes,6,13−19 prompting us to employ a similar strategy to structurally modify 5-HMF (Figure 1), a better and more promising lead antisickling compound than vanillin. The crystal structure of 5-HMF in complex with liganded Hb (PDB code 1QXE) shows two molecules of the compound bound symmetrically at the α-cleft, with the aldehyde group of each molecule making Schiff-base interactions with the α1 and α2 N-terminal Val1 amines, respectively.14,15 The 5-alcohol and the furan ring oxygen of 5HMF make direct and/or water-mediated hydrogen-bond interactions with the protein. These interactions help stabilize the high-O2-affinity R-state Hb. From the crystallographic binding mode of 5-HMF, it appeared that introducing alkyl or aryl substituents at the alcohol moiety of 5-HMF could result in additional hydrophobic interactions with the α-cleft pocket residues αAla130, αSer131, and αThr134 that may increase the compounds’ binding affinity and result in positive allosteric activity. Two derivatives, the methyl ester VZHE004 and the methyl ether VZHE005 (Figure 1), were first synthesized and then tested for their effect on Hb oxygen affinity (P50 shift or oxygen equilibrium curve; OEC), Hb modification (adduct formation), and antisickling effect (RBC morphology) as previously described.14,15 The positive pharmacologic outcome prompted us to study several other derivatives, including the esters VZHE006, VZHE007, and VZHE014; the alkyl ethers VZHE011, VZHE013, VZHE015, and VZHE016; and the aryl D

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Molecular Pharmaceutics

Figure 1. Derivatives of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF).

on Hb S modification (Figure 2a−c) and Hb oxygen affinity (P50 shift) (Figure 3a−c). For the majority of compounds, across all three groups, the esters VZHE004, VZHE006, and VZHE007; the alkyl ethers VZHE005, VZHE011, VZHE015, and VZHE016; and the aryl ether 5-PMFC, there appears to be a direct correlation between the two critical biochemical effects. With few exceptions, most of the derivatives, including VZHE004, VZHE006, VZHE007, VZHE005, VZHE011, VZHE015, VZHE016, and 5-PMFC exhibited similar or greater Hb modification and P50 shift than 5-HMF, especially at the lower concentrations of 1 and 2 mM. However, 5-NMFC and 5-CMFC, which though either showed better than or comparable adduct formation to 5-HMF, respectively, unexpectedly resulted in significantly less P50 shift than 5-HMF at all three concentrations (Table 2, Figures 2c and 3c). This observation (would be further discussed) is likely due to binding of the compounds to both liganded and unliganded Hb, which could lead to stabilization of R-state and/or T-state Hb affecting the direction and magnitude of the P50 shift. Among the esters, VZHE004, VZHE006, and VZHE007 exhibited similar and significantly higher adduct formation than the phosphate ester VZHE014 (Table 2, Figure 2a). Nonetheless, all four compounds showed potent P50 shifts that are similar or slightly better than 5-HMF (Table 2, Figure 3a). With the exception of the ethyl ether VZHE013, which showed weaker adduct formation and P50 shift than 5-HMF, the other four ethers VZHE005, VZHE011, VZHE015, and VZHE016 were comparable or slightly more potent than 5-HMF (Table 2, Figures 2b and 3b). In both the ester and alkyl ether class of compounds, there appears to be no correlation between the

ethers 5-PMFC, 5-CMFC, and 5-NMFC (Figure 1). The synthetic pathways adopted for the preparation of nine of the above compounds (VZHE analogues) are outlined in Schemes 1−4, and detailed syntheses are described in the Experimental Scheme 1

Section. The aryl ether compounds (5-PMFC, 5-CMFC, and 5NMFC) were available commercially and purchased from Sigma. All compounds were tested for their effect on Hb oxygen affinity, Hb modification, sickle RBC morphology, and the X-ray crystallographic binding interactions of VZHE004 with Hb determined. Novel Derivatives Modified Hb and Increased Its Affinity for Oxygen with Homozygous Sickle Blood. Aromatic aldehydes that modify Hb and increase the protein affinity for oxygen are expected to prevent hypoxia-induced polymerization with concomitant RBC sickling. Thus, all compounds were tested for their effect on Hb modification and Hb oxygen affinity at 1, 2, and 5 mM as previously reported,14,15 and the results are summarized in Table 2 (for the 2 mM drug concentration) and Figures 2 and 3 (for all concentrations). We observed a concentration-dependent effect Scheme 2

E

DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00553 Mol. Pharmaceutics XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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Molecular Pharmaceutics Scheme 3

Scheme 4

Table 2. Hemoglobin Adduct Formation, Oxygen Equilibrium, and Antisickling Studies Using Homozygous Sickle Red Blood Cells at 2 mM Test Compound Concentrationa compound

modified Hb (%)b

5-HMF 32.8 ± 1.6 Ester Derivatives VZHE004 43.5 ± 8.4 VZHE006 50.0 ± 3.0 VZHE007 44.5 ± 6.0 VZHE014 19.7 ± 6.3 Alkyl Ether Derivatives VZHE005 35.3 ± 11.6 VZHE011 40.4 ± 3.9 VZHE013 15.7 ± 4.3 VZHE015 39.7 ± 8.2 VZHE016 36.4 ± 9.7 Aryl Ether Derivatives 5-NMFC 40.5 ± 17.6 5-PMFC 60.53 ± 5.3 5-CMFC 26.7 ± 6.5

ΔP50 (%)c

inhibition of sickling (%)d

33.4 ± 0.9

25.7 ± 4.4

44.6 44.8 38.9 35.7

± 11.9 ± 12.9 ± 11.9 ± 8.1

26.3 71.6 10.0 8.4

± 4.4 ± 0.1 ± 5.9 ± 5.9

39.4 39.8 24.0 44.0 38.4

± 8.3 ± 0.8 ± 5.6 ± 9.7 ± 10.4

35.3 58.8 7.4 62.9 22.5

± 6.1 ± 7.0 ± 6.9 ± 6.2 ± 8.8

13.4 ± 5.7 45.4 ± 14.6 13.2 ± 5.2

10.3 ± 0.5 94.7 ± 0.1 2.0 ± 1.9

a

All studies were conducted with SS cells suspensions (20% hematocrit) incubated with 2 mM of each test compound; the results are the mean values ± SD for three separate experiments (biological replicates). The final concentration of DMSO was